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You Wouldn’t Think This About Nicaragua

It might come as a surprise, but Nicaragua is the second safest country in all of Latin America.

Photo Credit: Getty Image

Original Article Text From Near Shores America:

UN Report: Nicaragua the Second Safest Country in Latin America

With the lowest homicide rate in the region, Chile is the safest country in all of Latin America, closely followed by Nicaragua and Paraguay, according to a recent study by the United Nations’ human development agency, UNDP. The report, which evaluated citizen security in 18 countries in the region, has ranked nations taking into account the rates of homicide and assaults.

Nicaragua’s ranking as the second safest country in the region has surprised analysts because the Central American nation shares a border with Honduras, which has been hit hard by drug-related violence.

According to the report, the homicide rate in Nicaragua has decreased from 12 to 8.7 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Aside from Nicaragua, almost every country in the declining “Homicide Index” is in South America, including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia.

José Miguel Insulza, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), who has reviewed the UNDP report in the Chilean capital of Santiago, has urged countries to display their political will to enhance citizen security and warned that “violence takes root more forcefully in places where the state is less present.”